The Universe in a Nutshell

The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, 4/5

This book’s strengths and weaknesses balance very well with those of Hawking’s older work, A Brief History of Time, making this an excellent companion to the latter. Where A Brief History is old and short on illustrations, The Universe in a Nutshell is updated (2001) and illustrated in a style that can only be described as luxurious. Additional topics covered include a chapter on the future of biological and technological innovation, as well as a chapter on p-branes.

Despite these improvements, the layout of the new book feels uncomfortably disjointed for the subject matter – the meaty parts of the text are interrupted by large pictures, captions and info boxes. I actually prefer the drier, straightforward presentation of A Brief History. Additionally, I feel that many parts of this book are not as clearly communicated and I missed the tone of charming humility and open-mindedness that was evident in such abundance in the older version.

Search

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Disclaimer

I am exquisitely aware of my complete lack of qualifications to critique any author's work. However, I aspire to be an active reader, not a passive one, and formulating an opinion about what I read seems like a good place to start.

The purpose of my reviews is merely to help me record, process, and remember what I read (which would otherwise be forgotten immediately, if not sooner). The 5-point rating system is no more than a convenient method of recording my personal opinion of a book's quality and value at the time in which I read it.